


The Haunted Chair

by Al-Wahid (Al_Wahid)



Series: short stories [2]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27547813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Al_Wahid/pseuds/Al-Wahid
Summary: When our main character moves into his new house, he finds that his favorite chair is missing so, he buys an exact replica and that's when the chair shows its true nature
Series: short stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1846747
Kudos: 2





	The Haunted Chair

Finally, I'm moving into my new house. A lovely two-story house in the suburbs in Jericho and, from what I've heard, the neighbors are lovely. My last place in New York was extremely small and the noise was unbearable. I was also moving here because of a new job. A restaurant famous steak-house accepted to intern me as a sous chef. 

I was moving the last pieces of furniture into the house when I noticed that my favorite chair was missing. I went to talk to the driver and he told me that he doesn't remember hauling any chair into the truck which, seemed kind of strange seeing as I specifically remember telling him to make sure the chair was hauled in.

The driver looked at me and asked "what did the chair look like?"

"The chair was a brown leather recliner with a cup holder on either side" I replied 

"Can't you find a chair like that anywhere?" he asked

"Not like this one" I replied, "I can tell you that much"

"Why is that," he asked again

"The chair had a bleach mark on the headrest that my dad spilled on it" I replied, "and it was the last thing he left behind for me 

"My condolences" he looked sorry for asking, "I didn't see anything though"

"It's fine," I sighed "I'll find a similar chair"

"I'm sure you will"

"Thanks for helping me move. Drive safe" I said as the driver started back for the road.

I walked back to my newly bought house and climbed up to my bedroom, the boxes were still packed high above each other. I unpacked the box that contained my desktop and monitor and placed them on the floor since I hadn't built my desk yet. I put out an ad on my social media account asking if anyone had seen a brown leather recliner.

While I was unpacking and building the rest of my furniture I heard a ting sound come from my desktop. I jumped up and rushed to my desktop and noticed a message from one of the social media apps I was using saying that someone near my location was selling a recliner matching the description of my chair and so I followed up on the conversation asking where it was being sold and they replied with a flea market in Jericho High School tomorrow. I thanked the stranger and decided to sleep early so I unpacked my mattress and my sheets and laid them on the floor where I drifted into sleep. 

I woke up the next day feeling extremely happy, had my usual cup of Joe, and even made some waffles to go with it. When I finished having breakfast I walked out, got on my bicycle, and rode off for the high school. The road to the high school was like nothing in New York and that really was a sight for sore eyes and so was the smell of clean air.

After a ten-minute bike ride, I was finally there, Jericho High School was a nice place but that wasn't my concern currently. I walked to the parking lot and, there it was, the flea market. It was relatively big and many students were selling things ranging from antiques to furniture, exactly what I was looking for. I walked around for a while, picked up a few trinkets here and there, and then, lo and behold, there it was. I walked up to the owner of the stall and asked her about the recliner.

"Well, this chair used to be my favorite until I replaced it," she said 

"I see" I replied "I used to own a chair just like this"

"Really? You must miss that chair then" she said

"Yeah. This chair doesn't hold the same value but, it reminds me of someone" I replied 

"Was it a gift from anyone?" she asked curiously 

"No, but it was the last thing I have" I paused then sighed, "or rather had of him"

"My condolences' she began to stutter "I-I didn't realize that a-a measly chair like this could mean anything to anyone"

There was a very short pause before she broke the ice

"Well, you know what, since this chair does mean a lot to you then I'll give it to you for free," she said with a smile.

"No" I let out a chuckle "no, I can't accept an offer like that. I insist on paying the chair's full price"

"If that's the case, I'll sell it to you for like five hundred thousand dollars"

"Wait, what?" I looked confused "does this chair have gold inside it or something?"

"It's either that or you take my one time offer for the low price of zero dollars and zero cents" She chuckled.

"Well, since I don't have half a million to give you, I will gratefully accept your one time offer"

"Now, how will you get this back home?"

"What do you mean?"

"I did notice you coming in here on a bicycle"

"Was it that obvious?"

"I don't know who else saw you but I sure as hell did"

"Does anyone here have a pickup truck?"

"I may not have a truck but what I do have is this'

She went to the back of the stall and wheeled out a red cart that is roughly bigger than the bottom of the recliner.

I let out a laugh "wait, are you seriously suggesting that I wheel it back to my house?"

"Well, I gave you the chair for free and I need to make a profit somehow," she said

"How much is the cart?" I asked

"Like forty-five bucks"

I pulled out my wallet and handed her the money "It was really fun doing business with you"

"Thanks, and it was fun doing business with you"

I hauled the chair onto the cart and started walked towards my bike and once I got there, I tied the carts handle to the back of my bike and went on my merry way back home.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally arrived at my front lawn. I removed the chair from the cart and started dragging it up my lawn. One of my neighbors noticed and rushed out of their house to help me carry it up into my living room. 

"Thanks, the chair was heavy," I told my neighbor

"Anytime my friend," he said, "So, you move here recently?"

"Yeah, I moved in yesterday" I replied

"Do you need help unpacking and re-building?" he asked, "I'm pretty handy with my well, you know, hands"

"Sure, I need to get things done for today"

My neighbor and I got to work, we started putting the furniture in the living room together starting with the couch, then we started with the table, and lastly, we hung the T.V set and fixed its stereo system. After finishing the living room, we moved on to the kitchen then my bedroom, and so on until we were finally done with the whole house.

I insisted the man stay but he said he had other plans for the night so we both said our goodbyes and he went back to his home. I walked into the kitchen and made myself some mac and cheese and walked back to sit in the living room. As I got comfortable in my new recliner, I put on one of my favorite movies, Jurassic Park, and started eating. I guess I was extremely tired from running around all day, with my plate on the table in front of me and the T.V still on, I fell fast asleep in my chair.

I opened my eyes and looked around, I could see green fields and tall trees, am I dreaming? Then suddenly I heard a loud thud behind me and then another and they continued moving in an almost rhythmic sense so, I start turning my head slowly to find a large dinosaur walking behind me. I realized at that moment I was in the scene where Dr. Alan says his famous line, "They're moving in herds. They do move in herds" as a group of Parasaurolophus moved outside the lake and unto the grass planes.

What seemed so strange to me is that, even though I knew I was dreaming, it all felt extremely real like I was there, with actual dinosaurs. I continued walking around for a while, both my eyes and mind still trying to adjust to what I was seeing in front of me but, what I had noticed was that none of the main characters from the movie were in this vast landscape but I didn't care much although, meeting Jeff Goldblum would've been nice.

The landscape seemed to never end because, I had been walking for what seemed like ages when out of nowhere, a pack of raptors jump out of a nearby bush and started zipping towards me. I, having watched the movie many times, know that you can't outrun a raptor so, I just stand there and close my eyes.

My eyelids start opening up slowly and I can see a bright light seeping through a window. "Did I die?" I asked myself before I stretch my arms and legs and get up from my chair, "no, no I didn't" I say to myself as I grab my plate and return it to the kitchen sink. I walk into the bathroom and splash some cold water onto my face and brush my teeth before I headed out for the day. 

Today was the day I head out for my job interview at the steak-house. I was interviewing for a sous chef. I got on my bike and started riding towards the restaurant as fast as I can, I wanted to make a first good impression and for that, I couldn't be late even though I woke up early that day but, I was always about making good first impressions. 

I chained my bike to a fence post and walked up to the restaurant. The outside looked like a large cottage, it was simple yet elegant but, when I walked through those doors, I was immediately transported to another realm. The ceiling was sparkling and shimmering with the amounts of lights hung up. The whole place had an almost heavenly feel to it. The walls were all painted white to contrast the various woods used in the place. Many of the walls also had beautiful marble slabs plastered on them. The furniture was as elegant as the place they were put in. The soothing blue coaches and the graceful white chairs mixed in with the wooden tables all gave it a very complete feel. 

I walked up to the kitchen door and knocked only to be greeted by a friendly face.

"I'm here for the sous chef position," I said

"Ah, so you'll be my sous chef?" he inquired, "What can you bring to this place?"

"Well, I've worked in multiple restaurants and I believe I'm pretty good at cooking and following orders" I answered 

"And how well can you work under pressure?" he asked again

"Again, I've worked in many restaurants under many chefs" I replied, "I think I can handle myself here"

"I can assure you, no place you've worked at is as stressful as this place," said the chef.

"Alright then, I accept the challenge and I'll do my best" 

And so, an hour-long period of grueling and stressful cooking began. The head chef wasn't kidding when he said this wasn't like any other place I've worked in, every dish I cooked, wasn't good enough in his eyes so, he gave me one of his own and told me to replicate it. After about forty-five minutes, I was done with the recipe and, to my surprise, the chef liked it.

"Now that I know you're extent as a cook, I can happily say that you'll make a good sous chef." The head chef said, "And, I believe that this job will help you improve your cooking." And so, just like that, I got the position I wanted. 

I walked out of the place feeling extremely happy and victorious. I hopped on my bike again and started pedaling towards my home. I couldn't wait to sit on my chair after this tiresome day.

I got home late that night as well. I was still very tired and it was getting dark so I decided to have a light dinner, a salad maybe, and watch a movie until I started feeling sleepy. I made the salad, ate it, and walked back into the living room where I put on a horror movie, Friday the 13th to be exact, and sat in my recliner. As Jason popped out on screen I drifted into sleep. 

Once again, I open my eyes to find myself in the movie so, like any normal person in this movie would do, I started walking around the dark forest while keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. 

I suddenly remembered, in the previous movie, none of the main cast was there so, why should Jason be here and, with that in mind, I sat down at the lake's bank and I just took in the sights.

The sights didn't last long as I looked down and saw a bloodied machete running straight through my chest and as soon as I closed my eyes in this world I opened them in mine. 

I jumped out of my chair breathless. Am I dead? Was it just another dream? Why did this happen twice?

I turned off the T.V and went up to my room to change into my sleepwear and then head into bed. As I sat in my bed I sought to answer these questions. I mean I guess it was a dream but I've never had dreams like this. I mean I always had vivid dreams but I never thought this would happen and twice. Maybe it's the chair? I couldn't be bothered to answer any of these questions currently so, I drifted into sleep.

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed yet, I still couldn't shake off the terrible dread I felt yesterday. I had a quick breakfast and headed out to the restaurant for my first day of work. 

Halfway through the day, during lunch break, I decided to visit the university to search for the student who had sold me the chair. I mounted my bike and peddled towards the university and, it must've been my lucky day that day because, there she was, sitting with a group of people.

I walked up to her and asked if I could speak in private.

"So, back to do business?" she asked jokingly

"No, I just have a question about the chair" I replied, in a confused tone

"Shoot" she replied 

"Did you previously own this chair?" I began asking 

"No, it was my roommate's chair previously," she replied "he used to sleep on it like all night"

"Did he used to get bad dreams or would he imagine himself in, for example, a movie or anything like that?"

She had a confused look on her face, "no, no he didn't. Maybe you have a bad case of the nightmares" 

I thanked her for her time and hurried back to my bike so I could return to the restaurant to finish my shift.

Later that day, at the restaurant, I couldn't help but feel irritated. I kept zoning out and that made me mess up quite a few of my dishes which pissed me off since I had never had this problem before. The head chef noticed this and told me to go home but, I insisted on staying at least until my shift was done.

I somehow managed to finish the rest of today without screwing up a lot. I felt tired. I just wanted to solve this mystery and get it over with. What's wrong with that chair? What's wrong with me? I'd never thought I'd ever ask myself these types of questions yet here I am.

I arrived home and hopped on my computer to check if anyone had been experiencing the same thing I did. Apparently, what was happening with me was known as lucid dreaming, a phenomenon where one's dreams are so real they feel like they are actually in them. Still, that didn't answer anything.

After hours of browsing on the Internet, I looked out my window to notice that the only lights on were that of the moon and the street lamps. I got up to go to bed but I decided against it. I wanted to try something. What if I fell asleep on the recliner without anything in the background? What then? 

I walked slowly down the stairs, towards the recliner and plopped myself in it. "Nothing out of the ordinary for now" I had a grin on my face, "I guess the magic happens when I close my eyes." 

I sat there, staring blankly at the ceiling until my eyelids started getting heavy and all I could see was nothing. I opened my eyes and I was in a car, on the passenger side. I looked to my left and, to my surprise, I saw my dad. 

My head started rushing, all I could hear was the word “no” over and over and over. This was that day, this was that damned day. The day I lost everything, and I'm reliving it. Why? Why did it have to be this dream?

We were driving in New York and, looking around, it was as beautiful as I remembered it to be. The dazzling lights and the bustling sidewalks. It was called the big apple for a reason.

"Having fun there bucko?" my dad turned to me and said

I really wanted to warn him about it, I really did but, try as I might, I could only say the following.

"Yeah, I'm really happy we decided to take this drive together"

"I'm happy you're enjoying it" he gave me one of his world-famous smiles, "you know, I bet your mom would love this."

"I bet she would," I said, smiling back.

We drove around for quite a while until a load metallic crashing interrupted it. This was it, it's really happening. 

It was all dark.

Now only blue and red lights were shining and a very familiar siren-like sound rang.

Now I'm floating under bright white lights.

And finally, I awake to a knock at the door.

I rushed out of my chair and ran towards the door to open it. It was my neighbor and he was standing there, looking scared.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, almost out of breath

"Yeah, everything is fine" I answer, "why? Did something happen?"

"Jesus Christ man, you were screaming," he said, almost relieved

"Wait, what? I was screaming?" Now I was the one with a scared look on their face.

"Yeah" he replied, "wait, why are you surprised?"

"Because I was asleep" I responded, "did I wake you up?" 

"I mean, I'm a light sleeper so don't worry about it," he said as if to reassure me "bad dream?"

"Yeah, yeah" I had cold sweets running down my face, "I guess it was just a bad dream."

"You want to talk about it?" he asked reluctantly 

"No, I'm fine" I answered, "Say, do you have the time?"

"Oh yeah sure" he pulled his phone out of his pocket "It's currently four in the morning" 

"Ah alright, well I better get back to sleep then," I said, now tired

"Alright man, sweet dreams" and then he left to go back to his house. 

I close the door and walk back to the recliner, that damned recliner, I have the urge to sit and just sleep there but I don't want to. I don't want the doctor to come back in and tell me the results. I don't want to experience that again. I really don't want to.

I somehow fought the urge to sleep on the recliner and I just lazily climbed up to the second floor and into my bed.

My alarm rang. I got out of bed and got dressed. I skipped breakfast and headed straight for work. I park my bike beside the back entrance and walk inside.

"This is your last chance kid" the head chef reminded me

I didn't respond, I started boiling water for one of the dishes

"Did you hear me kid?" he asked

Again, no response, I just sat there, watching the water evaporate.

"Do you not know how to talk?"

Silence, the water started boiling 

"You know, it's customary to say yes chef when the head chef talks to you"

And just like that, the water had overflown out the pot.

"Well, chef, I prefer not to talk to assholes like you first thing in the morning" I yelled at him

"Alright then, if that's the case, hand in your apron and get out of my kitchen," he said, holding out his hand.

I ripped off my apron, threw it on the ground, and said, "Pick it up and shove it."

I started walking towards the door and right before I exited I turned to the chef and said, "Oh, you may need a new pot of water."

I got on my bike and angrily peddled away from the restaurant. I was furious, it was all that stupid chair's fault. But why? Why? Why? 

I continued peddling but I didn't want to return home. I can't. It's where that stupid fucking chair is. I don't want to go back home. I'll do some laps around the town until I calm down.

I was out of breath so I took a short break. I got off my bike and collapsed onto the floor, the cold pavement felt nice and refreshing. I lifted my head up and looked around, I was surprised to see the entrance of the cemetery. 

"Plain lawn cemetery huh?" I thought to myself "why not take a look around." 

I chained my bike before heading in. The cemetery was, well, depressing, to say the least. It's a place where people's loved ones lay asleep, never to come back. I walked for a little more before coming to a complete halt. The many tombstones reminded me of something but I couldn't tell what it was. 

I began feeling light-headed. What was it this time? I continued looking around and then suddenly, I remembered the dream I had last night. But why? I started to get mad again. I understand that my dad is dead so why is it still on my mind? 

It then hit me. I rushed outside of the cemetery and hopped back on my bike and started heading home. "I can't believe what I had done, god I'm such an idiot." I kept telling myself, as I pulled up in the driveway and frantically re-chained my bike. 

"What's all the ruckus? Why in such a hurry?" it was my next-door neighbor and, he appeared at the perfect time.

"I need to get to New York right away so I'm going to be away for like a day or two" I replied, "oh and, would you mind giving me a lift?"

"Heh, what're neighbors for?" he said, with a smile on his face "wait here let me get my car keys" 

I finished locking my doors and waited for him beside his car. I was baffled at how stupid my mistake was, never mind, I'm going to go correct it.

"You ready to go?" my neighbor asked

"Yeah, let's hit the road," I said.

I never wanted to get into a car after what happened but, this was the fastest option I had. I spent most of my time looking out the window, watching the shrubbery and the small houses slowly turn into large buildings and skyscrapers. 

"If you don't mind me asking, why is it that you're coming back here?" he asked 

I didn't know what to say but somehow I managed to utter "I forgot to say goodbye to someone"

"Ah, I see, so where to now?" he asked 

"There's a hospital around here somewhere. I just need to ask a few questions and then, well, we'll see where that takes us." I responded.

We pulled up to the hospital.

"Would you mind if you waited here for a bit?" I asked.

"No problem man, take your time" he responded happily.

I walked up to the front desk and asked some questions about the incident and about what happened. As I listened to the receptionist's response I felt like more of an idiot and I got sadder but I knew I'd have to take it. I thanked the receptionist for her time and headed out again.

"So, where to now?" my neighbor inquired 

"We have one last place to go to before we can head home." I said, "There’s a graveyard nearby I'd like to visit."

"Alright, let's go" he responded

We arrived at the graveyard and I could barely stand. I'm finally correcting my mistake. A mistake that has haunted me for quite a while now. I bought some flowers from a vendor selling some outside and I walked in. There were a number of people ranging from families who lost their loved ones, comrades who have lost their brothers and sisters in wars, truly a saddening sight. 

That wasn't why I was here to do though. I came here to make things right. I must've walked past a couple of dozen graves before I arrived. My chest felt tight. I sat down in front of the tombstone.

"Hey Dad," I said in a coarse voice "How're you doing up there?"

There was nothing but silence for a while.

"I finally moved out, like I always said I would. Yeah, it's a nice suburb called Jericho. It's right outside of here actually."

Still no response but, somehow, I was just happy being able to speak to him.

"It's really lovely. There's a really cool steak-house there and, I even got a job there, well, for a while at least" I snickered "The people there are friendly too, my neighbor was the one who drove me here."

My vision suddenly got blurry, I was tearing up 

"I got you these flowers. I mean, I know you weren't into this kind of stuff but I felt like it was appropriate." And as I laid the flowers down, tears rushed out of my eyes, "I'm sorry dad, I shouldn't have run away from what happened, I mean, I didn't even come to your funeral. I'm such a horrible son. I wish I could ask you for forgiveness but I know that you'd get mad saying it wasn't my fault and all that."

I started crying even more "I'm sorry dad, I really am, I never wanted you to go but we all have a time don't we?" 

The tightness in my chest started to loosen, I sat in front of the tombstone for a while and talked to my dad about the past few weeks and how this chair was the reason I was able to come here.

"You'd probably give it a name like The Haunted Chair if you were still here" I laughed, "well, I should get going now, so this is goodbye for now. I'll come back once or twice a month to tell you about how it's going, I promise."

As I walked back towards the entrance, my neighbor greeted me with a smile.

"Feeling better there buddy?" he asked me

"Yeah, let's get back home" I answered, smiling back.

After a couple of hours on the road, the stars started shining above, and before I knew it, we arrived home. I bid my neighbor farewell and went inside. I spotted my recliner in the corner and thought to myself "why not, I'm too tired to go upstairs anyway." So, I plonked myself down on the chair, pulled out the leg rest and, took my first good sleep in a long time. No nightmare, no bad thoughts, just a nice, deep sleep.


End file.
